


Hunting Buddies

by Chef_Geekier



Category: Dragaera - Steven Brust, Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (When he listens to other people), Everyone is pack, Fluff and Humor, Friendships and Relationships, Good Alpha Derek Hale, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Multi, Stiles and Scott are bros forever, accidental magic shop acquisition, murder buddies, pack is family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-19 00:37:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13112028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chef_Geekier/pseuds/Chef_Geekier
Summary: When Chris woke up to the feeling of someone trying to reach him via psionic contact, he never imagined it would shake up his world quite this much. Vlad has much to answer for.Or, in which Vladimir Taltos flees Dragaera and goes to Beacon Hills, Vlad and Stiles Stilinski become best friends and acquire a witchcraft supply shop, Morrolan e'Drien is /not/ pining over Vlad's disappearance, Peter Hale nags Derek Hale into being a good alpha, Chris Argent becomes Vlad's assassination buddy, Aliera e'Kieron and Kragar are most emphatically not running betting books on when Stetopher and Vladolan are going to become reality (but Sethra Lavode and Daymar are still going to them for the latest gossip out of Beacon Hills), and Kiera the Thief starts stealing Derek's socks.Meanwhile, Loiosh is having a blast in the forests surrounding Beacon Hills, and Lady Teldra and Melestav are probably meeting for tea and biscuits as they discuss their bosses' relative stupidities.





	1. In which Vladimir Taltos flees Dragaera and goes to Beacon Hills...

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to my latest ridiculous crossover. Strap yourselves in.
> 
> For those unfamiliar with it, the Vlad Taltos series is set in a high fantasy setting with magic and assassinations and thievery and warfare. For this, I'm saying that the world is mostly like it is now, but magic is known as are werewolves and the like. In the series, Vlad is an assassin who works for the Jhereg (basically, the criminal faction) and runs his own territory, then over the course of the series finds himself dealing with ever more ridiculous shenanigans until things collapse and he's forced on the run. Witchcraft and Sorcery are different branches of magic, and Vlad practices both, and has two familiars – Loiosh, who he's raised from the egg, and Loiosh's mate Rocza who he kind of accidentally bonded with to save his life. Loiosh is a jhereg – basically, a tiny four-legged dragon-like creature a little bigger than a cat, who often rides around on Vlad's shoulder and has an opinion on everything. They have a psionic link.
> 
> For this story, most of the series pretty much happened in the country of Dragaera in Europe, just with modern twists on things. Vlad's still an assassin and witch and dabbles in sorcery, still ran a territory for the Dragaeran mafia, still made friends with nobility and occasionally threatened to stab them, and still fucked up big enough to be run out of the country. Exact backstories will crop up as Vlad decides to share them with people (though he may sometimes lie).
> 
> Teen Wolf happened much as it did in the show up to the end of S2, then Beacon Hills calmed down a lot and now Derek leads the rebuilt Hale pack with constant needling from Stiles and Peter to make sure he's a good alpha. Scott was placed in what amounts to a foster-pack, where he learned to come to terms with what had happened to him. Now he's back in Beacon Hills, part of the Pack and back to being Stiles' brother. He still tries to be a moral compass for the rest of them, but he's learned to not be quite so judgemental and to listen to the pack elders.
> 
> I welcome questions and comments, and ideas for mini-plots. I have very little idea of where this is going, only that the other characters from Dragaera are going to show up.
> 
> Pronunciation guide:  
> Adrinlankha – ah-dri-LAHN-kuh  
> Aliera – uh-LEER-uh  
> Cawti – KAW-tee  
> Dragaera – druh-GAR-uh  
> Drien – DREE-en  
> Jhereg – zhuh-REG  
> Kiera – KI-ruh  
> Kragar – KRAY-gahr  
> Loiosh – LOI-osh  
> Morrolan – muh-ROL-uhn  
> Rocza – RAW-tsuh  
> Taltos – TAHL-tosh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vladimir and Loiosh leave Adrilankha and find refuge with old buddy Chris Argent.

Shit.

Double shit.

_Dragon shit._

Vlad hit the ground, rolled, and kept running. His guns and knives were mostly where they belonged – secreted in various pockets and straps attached to Vlad's body – and Loiosh was flying above, ducking between the shadows and watching for pursuers, but none of it really _helped._ It didn't matter that he hadn't actually said anything, hadn't given evidence, the Jhereg still wanted him dead. It was enough that he _might_ have, since he'd fought his way high enough that it would be disaster for the Jhereg if Vlad ever turned State's Witness.

Didn't matter that the first time he'd 'worked' for the Jhereg it had been to take out a traitor, back when he was sixteen. Didn't matter that he'd become known to the Council as someone who could clean house for them when absolutely necessary.

At least Cawti would be safe. Beautiful, stubborn Cawti, his wife – no, his ex-wife. He'd signed the divorce papers for her the previous day. It was a kick in the guts that that could be what saved her. Not that she was defenseless, not in the least, but _no one_ could out-run the Jhereg for long, not if they wanted to stay in the proud country of Dragaera. And Cawti didn't have connections outside of the country – hell, she likely didn't have connections out of the _city_. Adrilankha was insular like that.

Vlad did, though. He just needed to make it to – there!

_There, Boss!_

_I see it. Can you see -_

_Go left. There's a gap in the fence, you can get through._

It took some maneuvering, but Vlad managed to squeeze through the gap – he wouldn't have made it if he'd had a pack with him – and with a final burst of speed, jumped the gap to catch hold of the cargo train's final carriage. Climbing up to the roof was simple for a man of Vlad's skills, and he lay there a while breathing hard. Loiosh landed next to him and curled up close, lending comfort.

In less than an hour, he'd be out of Dragaera and into Italy. From there, he still had his EU passport and could disappear into any country. Of course, they might know the name – but he was fairly sure that the forger who'd made the passport had died years ago.

_Willing to bet your life, Boss?_

_Got any better ideas?_

_You could call Chris._

Huh. That – that wasn't a bad idea. As an American, the Jhereg had no authority over Chris Argent. As an arms dealer, he and Vlad had quite an amicable business relationship. As a Hunter, he was perfect to train with. They'd met when one of Vlad's 'jobs' had taken him to France, and suddenly he'd stumbled into a feud between two werewolf packs. Yeah, that hadn't been fun. Still, he and Chris (with his wife's permission) had managed to remove enough key players that the more peaceable pack had claimed the larger territory closer to town, and the bite-happy dickheads had been forced to move on. Everyone was happy.

And Vlad was several thousand Imperials richer, but that was a given.

As the train was losing speed, starting the slow descent to the bustling Italian city, Vlad leapt and, once again, hit the ground rolling. His phone was still in his pocket – if there was someone who could break through Daymar's shields to trace it, Vlad didn't want to know – but there was little chance the phone number he'd memorised years ago was still correct. So, psionic communication it was.

A little way out of town, far enough from the tracks that he wouldn't be spotted, Vlad settled on the ground. Loiosh was on his shoulder, silent support as well as amplifying his abilities, and Vlad concentrated on Chris as he remembered him.

A quiet sense of strength, a face with lines from laughter and stress, pale eyes capable of welcoming or threatening, loyalty, respect, an almost overwhelming love for his family...

_Vlad? Is that you?_

_Gotten cozy with any other witches lately?_

_Hardly likely,_ and Vlad could feel Chris' amusement even if laughter didn't transmit very well psionically. _What can I do for you?_

_I'm being hunted. I'm out of the Jhereg, out of Dragaera, and if the bosses have their way, out of the land of the living._

_Shit._

_Yeah._

_Where are you now?_

_Italy. I need to get out of Europe, get as far away as possible._

_I'll check if your passports are flagged. If we get you to America, you can come stay with me._

_Thanks._

Vlad passed on his current number, and Chris did the same. Chris was capable of receiving the psionic link, but he had no natural aptitude for either witchcraft or sorcery, so was incapable of establishing a link on his own. Phones were much easier.

Having managed to hit one of his caches before fleeing Dragaera, Vlad was able to pay cash for a second-hand (or fifth-hand, more likely) car as soon as the city began to wake up. Loiosh hid until it was safe to come back and curl up in the passenger seat. Vlad had a moment of worry – he'd left his wife at her request, Loiosh had been separated from his mate by stupid humans – but his familiar sent a brief pulse of reassurance before falling into slumber. It had been a long night, after all.

By the time they made it to the next border, Chris had sent a simple text – passport all clear – and Vlad was able to keep driving. His goal was to make it to an international airport and get on the next available flight to the United States, Canada, or South America. From there – wherever he ended up – he could arrange transport to Beacon Hills. Hopefully.

For a moment Vlad allowed himself to miss Kragar's information-gathering and Melestav's attention to detail, but then stamped down on it. There was nothing he could do to change what had happened. Maybe he'd be able to see them again some day, but it was doubtful.

What hurt more was having to leave without telling Morrolan or Aliera what had happened. His employees would know, and would be protecting themselves, but his friends were completely clueless. With any luck, Cawti would think to inform them, but maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she'd rather move on with her life, cutting out everything that had once connected her to Vlad.

Either way, it was something that would prey on Vlad's mind until he was able to stop somewhere and sort out what his life was going to become.

 

~HB~

 

Thirty-six hours later, Vlad made his way through the terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. He barely paid attention to his surroundings, just thanked the Demon Goddess that his spells had held up and concealed his weaponry this long. Security measures were constantly evolving to try and keep people like Vlad from moving between countries, but Vlad knew the world's greatest thief – and more importantly, Kiera liked him. She was willing to pass on certain secrets if she thought that he could benefit, and clearly her concealment spells hadn't yet been flagged by any of the international law enforcement agencies.

Loiosh had almost caused a panic, but thankfully there had been an easy solution. To 'prove' that Loiosh wasn't venomous, Vlad had pressed his thumb against the jhereg's fang and cut himself. The security guards didn't need to know that, having raised Loiosh from the egg, Vlad was now immune to jhereg venom from having been bitten so often. Now back at his usual perch on Vlad's shoulder, Loiosh was carefully surveying the crowd for any threats as they made their way outside to where – hopefully – Chris would be waiting.

Indeed, as soon as Vlad stepped out of the building, there he was. Something unwound in Vlad, and he quickly moved over to shake hands.

“Good to see you still in one piece,” Chris commented as he gave Loiosh a scratch under the chin. “Both of you.”

“Same goes for you,” Vlad replied with a wry grin. “Last I heard, Hunters don't exactly have a long life expectancy.”

Chris shrugged and indicated with his head the direction of the car.

“I'm doing okay. The pack I'm sharing a town with has learned a lot in the last few years. I'd almost forgotten what it was like to work with Weres. They're competent enough.”

“High praise coming from you.” As they walked Vlad felt himself relaxing further, even though he wasn't truly safe yet. There was just something about Chris that made him feel as though things would turn out all right. While Vlad didn't quite see Chris as a father-figure, he couldn't deny that the older man was more of a role model (and had imparted more relevant life skills) than his own father ever had been. He was definitely looking forward to seeing-

“Allison can't wait to see you,” Chris commented, plucking the thought straight from Vlad's mind. “You may have to make good on your promise to teach her to throw knives.”

“You mean you haven't taught her yet? Shame on you,” Vlad shook his head. “How is she supposed to strike fear into the hearts of all who oppose her if she can't wield all the weapons?”

“She has her crossbow. And her compound bow. And multiple swords, daggers, and guns. She does just fine.”

“Mmhmm.” Honestly, Vlad could believe it. Allison was only a couple of years younger than he was but she could be just as vicious when she wanted to be. Vlad would never be a man who underestimated a woman's ability to do damage. After all, he was friends with Sethra (who had been Warlord at least twice) and Aliera (whose favourite hobby was baiting idiots into dueling her and then killing them) – and he'd married one of Dragaera's most infamous female assassins.

When they finally reached the car after a lifetime of walking (or ten minutes), Vlad followed Loiosh's lead and curled up as much as he could in his seat. Chris didn't try to talk to him, and they were both asleep before they'd left the car park.

 

~HB~

 

It was evening when Vlad finally resurfaced, and they were driving through what felt like a small town. Taking in some of the business names, he deduced that they were in Beacon Hills.

“Welcome back,” Chris murmured. “Looked like you needed the sleep. We'll be home in about five minutes. Allison will be there. Tomorrow I'll introduce you to the Pack. They know you're an old friend, and I'm sure Allison's been gushing about having you here, but they don't know the details.”

“Good,” Vlad rasped, then rubbed his throat. In response, Chris indicated a bottle of water in the cup holder. It was downed in seconds, and Vlad felt much better. “How much do you think I should tell them?”

“The Alpha should know most of it,” Chris spoke softly, not sounding judgemental at all. “The rest... it's up to you how much you want to make public. Some of the pack would be uncomfortable knowing you did 'work'. Some won't mind as long as you're not plotting against them. Some will consider it an asset if you're going to ally with the pack.” He paused, then let out a chuckle. “And at least one of them will think you being an assassin is the coolest thing ever.”

Well, that was promising.

Vlad was saved from having to think of anything else when they pulled into the driveway of a large house in what seemed like a well-off neighbourhood. The front door was immediately flung open, and Allison was running towards the car. Vlad had to move quickly to get on his feet in time to be jumped on, but he could feel the smile stretching his face.

“Hi Vlad!” Allison greeted enthusiastically.

“Hi Allison. I hear I owe you knife-throwing lessons?”

“You bet your ass you do.” When she pulled back, Loiosh had climbed across to rest on her shoulder. Allison giggled and gave him chin scritches, grabbing Vlad's hand with her free one and pulling him towards the house. “I ordered pizza for dinner, it'll be here any minute. And I cleared out the guest room, so there's plenty of space for your stuff...”

“Which he didn't bring,” Chris pointed out oh so helpfully. Vlad shot him a dark look over his shoulder, but the older man just grinned.

“Well, that's okay too,” Allison continued like it wasn't a big deal that Vlad had had to flee his home with just the clothes and weapons on him. “We can go to the mall tomorrow after you meet the pack. Don't worry, they're going to love you too.”

It might have been stupid, but Vlad found that he wasn't worrying. He'd left everything behind, but maybe – just maybe – he could start again here.

 


	2. ...Vladimir and Stiles Stilinski become best friends...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chris takes Vlad to meet the pack. Vlad and Allison act like pre-schoolers. Stiles and Peter's relationship is explained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, people asked for more. Here's more. I may have a vague idea of what's going on...
> 
> (If someone finds my Benefits of Murder Families inspiration, throw a net over it and bring it back please?)
> 
> Chris was surprisingly fun to write, as was the relationship between Allison and Vlad.

The morning after taking in an on-the-run assassin (why did this sort of thing keep happening to him?), Chris woke to the smell of something delicious happening in his kitchen. It was barely five, but if Vlad was cooking then no way was Chris going back to sleep. The boy was amazing when it came to food – he'd worked in a restaurant more than half of his life, up until he'd found that he could earn much more as hired muscle, and then risen through the ranks of the Jhereg.

Upon making his way downstairs, Chris had to smile when he saw Allison slumped at the counter with Loiosh draped across her shoulders while Vlad flowed easily around the kitchen.

“Your selection of spices is appalling,” Vlad called out, and Chris shrugged. “Also, you have no kethna eggs. I improvised, but you should at least keep duck eggs around.”

“So make a list. We can hit the supermarket on the way back from meeting the pack.”

“Supermarket,” Vlad muttered, sending Chris a flat look. Allison giggled sleepily.

“Beacon Hills doesn't have a farmer's market,” Chris broke the news while trying not to grin. He was about to have a very unhappy chef in the kitchen. “We can order some seedlings for you to grow your own herbs and vegetables, and maybe we can convince Derek to let you keep some animals in the preserve for fresh supplies, but you're going to have to get used to small town living.”

Whatever Vlad's response to that was – and it would surely have contained at least one aspersion on Chris' breeding – it was drowned out by Allison's phone starting to ring. Everyone looked at it, Allison's look of confusion matching Chris' feelings while Vlad just looked smug when Derek's name appeared on the caller ID.

Oh dear.

“Derek, what... huh?... Poisoned? _Shot and poisoned?_... What do you... hang on.” Allison turned to Chris with wide eyes. “Scott's been shot. Have you...” she trailed off and both Argents turned to where Vlad was humming as he dished up their breakfasts.

“Vladimir,” Allison's voice had a core of steel to it. “What did you do?”

“He was creeping around outside your bedroom window. I expressed my disapproval of his methods.”

“By _shooting him in the balls?_ ”

Chris had to quickly turn away so that Allison didn't see him laugh. He shouldn't encourage that sort of behaviour, he _knew_ he shouldn't, but still...

“It should get the message across.”

“Vlad, I'm not sure you understand the concept of _lying low_. You're meant to be _hiding_ , not _pissing off the local werewolves!_ ”

“Gimme that,” Vlad deftly swiped the phone and replaced it with a plate of breakfast casserole, before addressing the (presumably angry) Alpha on the line. “He's a werewolf. If the poison's not out of his system yet, it will be within the hour. It's not like I hit an artery. And the next time one of your wolves stalks a member of this family, it'll be a head-shot. Now, we're having breakfast and will be at your place when we agreed, not before. I'm not bringing any antidotes. Goodbye.” He hung up without waiting for a response.

He'd probably been interacting with Stiles too much lately, but Chris couldn't help himself. When Vlad put the phone back in front of Allison, Chris held his hand up for a hi-five, which Vlad happily gave him.

“I hate you both,” Allison muttered into her breakfast.

“No you don't,” Vlad contradicted her.

“...No, I don't.”

Chris leaned over and kissed the top of her head before starting on his own breakfast.

Maybe he'd think about getting some ducks for Vlad to keep in the back yard.

 

~HB~

 

As soon as they walked into the pack meeting, Chris knew that all of the werewolves could tell Vlad's line of work. They all sniffed, then Scott flinched /hard/. Erica and Boyd shifted closer to each other, Isaac looked intrigued, and Derek and Peter both had their full attention on every move Vlad made.

_Good thing we decided on honesty._

“Everyone,” Allison spoke up as the Argent matriarch, “this is Vladimir Taltos, my psuedo-brother. He's not a hunter, but he's from Dragaera where things work a little differently and has worked as an assassin.”

Vlad and Chris both scoffed at her understatement, before Vlad stepped up to Allison's right shoulder and took over.

“Ally's trying to be nice and make you all comfortable, but I'm sure you can smell the death on me. I've spent almost ten years working for the Right Hand of the Jhereg in Adrilankha. I ran my own territory for most of that time, but my reputation is as an assassin, and it's how I made most of my money. I had to leave Dragaera when I made a deal with the Empress to get my ex-wife out of a death sentence. Chris offered me a place to stay, and since he and Allison have ties to this pack, he decided that it was best we be honest with you.”

“And then you shot Scott,” Stiles spoke up, though he only looked mildly irritated.

“I get that wolf instincts are different,” Vlad allowed, “but to humans, hanging around outside your ex-girlfriend's house isn't romantic. It's creepy.”

“Fucking finally,” Isaac muttered, and Erica, Stiles and Peter all nodded. Boyd and Derek both looked like they wanted to agree as well.

“See Scotty?” Stiles turned to his friend, who looked very embarrassed. “Now will you listen to Derek when he tells you your instincts are going in the wrong direction?”

Meanwhile, Allison had turned to Vlad and was looking annoyed.

“I can look after myself, you know. I don't need you fighting my battles for me.”

“Of course you don't,” Vlad looked surprised. “I was just dealing with it before you had to.”

“By shooting him.”

“Ally, what would you have done if you saw Cawti skulking around outside my window?”

“I'd shoot her in the head,” Allison grumbled. “But that's different! She has actually killed you before!”

“Aliera brought me back.”

“ _That's not the point!_ ”

Rolling his eyes, Chris walked over to where Stiles and Peter were sitting on a couch and dropped into the space they'd left for him. He ran a quick eye over Scott, who looked more sheepish than anything else.

“What sort of poison did he use on you, anyway?”

“I don't know,” Scott shuffled in his seat. “My balance was thrown off, like a lot, it was hard just walking. And I felt really sick. But it faded like he said, and I feel fine now.”

“Ah,” Chris nodded. “You're lucky. That's one of his milder ones. Just hope that he doesn't have cause to use any with jhereg venom in it. Those are nasty, and have no known antidote.”

Vlad and Allison were still bickering, apparently ignoring everyone else. Loiosh rolled his head in a way that conveyed his disdain for the theatrics, then jumped from Vlad's shoulder and glided over to Chris, who indulged his apparent desire for chin scritches. When it looked like Derek was going to try and get the arguing children's attention, Chris shook his head at the young Alpha.

“Let them be for a bit. They haven't actually seen each other in over two years, and any time they get together they revert to five-year-olds for a bit. Despite not actually knowing each other at five.”

“Huh,” Stiles muttered, looking at them for a moment. “They kinda do look like siblings, don't they? How old is Vlad?”

“He's twenty four. I met him seven years ago. He wasn't running his territory yet, but he was already extremely accomplished as an assassin.”

“Hold up. This guy was killing people for a living at seventeen, mixes his own lethal poisons, gets Ally-cat to act like a preschooler, and somehow talked you into basically adopting him?” Stiles blinked, then grinned. “I think I'm in love.”

On his other side, Peter looked affronted. Chris quirked a grin at him.

“I thought you two were together this week?”

“Maybe not for long,” Peter muttered.

“Oh don't be like that Fuzzy,” Stiles turned to him and kissed his cheek. “I can appreciate others without intending to leave you for them.”

“He touches you, I rip off his arms.”

 

~HB~

 

“Well that went well,” Vlad commented later as they left the abandoned hotel the Hale Pack had taken over. They were in the process of renovating it so that each pack member – or couple – had their own suite. It wasn't large, but it was big enough, and since the pack didn't consist of blood family it made sense to give everyone more privacy.

“I'm surprised you noticed,” Chris rolled his eyes. “You two were very focused on bickering.”

“It got them to relax, didn't it?” Allison spoke up, linking her arm with Vlad's. “We got through some of our back-log of topics, the pack got to see that Vlad has impeccable control over his murderous instincts, and in general they're already thinking of him as pack-adjacent. He'll be pack proper within a week.”

Pausing, Chris had to fix both kids with a strong stare.

“You were bickering to game the werewolves with trust issues.”

“Pretty much.”

“...Vlad, are you certain your mother never went to France or the US?”

Allison cackled, while Vlad just grinned.

“So, that kid you were next to.”

“Stiles. He's only four years younger than you.”

“Yeah, that one. He's with the werewolf he was next to?”

“Sometimes,” Allison shrugged. “They have the most tempestuous relationship ever.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Chris nodded. “When they're together, they're fiercely protective of each other but argue at the drop of a hat. When they're not together, they're even more protective and both mope. Their relationship status changes two or three times a month.”

“We're all convinced they're it for each other,” Allison confided, “they're just too stubborn to admit it.”

“Sounds familiar,” Vlad smirked. He refused to elaborate though, even as Allison poked and pouted.

Chris had a sudden, startling vision of Vlad and Stiles as friends, and it both amused and horrified him. Those two teaming up... it could only lead to complete and utter chaos.

Ah well. At least he'd have a front-row seat.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love. Please, someone tell me I'm not insane for this.


End file.
